Ster Elektro Toer 2008 - Stage 2
Matti Breschel takes the stage on the Cauberg as Tony Martin and High
Road/Columbia control the race.

The second stage in the Ster Elektro Toer was 177 kilometers from Schijndel
to Valkenburg with the finish on top of the famous Cauberg. The Cauberg is best
known as the finish of the Amstel Gold Race. Tony Martin (High Road) started the
stage as leader after winning the opening prologue yesterday.

During the stage the riders have two climbs over the mighty Cauberg, and once
on the Bemelerberg. But these climbs are all in the final 20 km of the race
after 157 kilometers of racing over a mostly flat course.

The break of the day came from Christophe Edaleine (Ag2R-LaMondiale), Mirko
Selvaggi (Cycle- Collstrop) and Albert Timmer (Skil-Shimano). The maximum gap of
these three riders was 7.40 and they rode in the lead for over 130 km before the
bunch chased them down with less than 30 km to go.

In the final 25 kilometer of the race Pim Ligthart and Jos Pronk (Krolstone)
tried to escape but Rabobank, Barloworld and High Road denied the young duo and
dragged them back. The miles and climbs started extracting a price on the riders
legs forcing a natural selection as many riders struggled.

The bunch stayed together as they approached the Cauberg no rider was strong
enough to give the group the slip and the riders jockeyed for somewhat of a mass
sprint.

In the sprint on top of the Cauberg it was CSC’s Matti Breschel, the
winner of the Philadelphia International race last week, who took the stage win
ahead of last year’s stage winner on the Cauberg Paul Martens. Italian Enrico
Gasparotto was third. Rinaldo Nocentini and Alberto Ongarato completed the top
5.

Tony Martin finished in the first part of the bunch and was able to keep the
yellow leader’s jersey. In the ranking he is followed by five riders at 8
seconds. Koen de Kort is now second and Paul Martens third. Nikolay Trusov,
Enrico Gasparotto and Brad McGee are with the others, all within 8 seconds of
Martin.

Queen's Stage Tomorrow
The third stage is the Queens stage of this years Ster Elektro Toer. It runs
from Verviers to La Gileppe (Jalhay-Belgium) over 192km.

The stage will take the riders through to the Ardennes with climbs like La
Redoute and the Cote de Rosier. All known from Liege-Bastogne-Liege. Last year
this stage was won by Tinkoff’s Vasil Kiryienka. Can Kiryienka win again? He is
in good shape as he won a mountain stage in the recent Giro D’Italia.

High Road or Team Columbia, if you will, will likely try to control the race
in order to keep Martin in the jersey after tomorrow’s stage. But the time
bonuses will play an important role as well if the stage will end up in a
sprint, a lot can happen in 192 kilometers on a parcours like this. Not to
mention we have a very tightly packed G.C. with 60 riders within 40 seconds of
the race leaders... Its an anyone can win the race lead situation.

Team CSC Saxo Bank Report
Matti Breschel Won in Cauberg
Matti Breschel took his second victory in less than two weeks, when the young
Dane won the 177-kilometer second stage of Ster Elektrotoer with start in
Schijndel and finish at the top of the Cauberg climb in Valkenburg.

”It's definitely a beautiful place to win a race – even if it isn't a
classic,” said a happy Matti Breschel after
his victory on Cauberg.

”I feel like everything came together for me when I won in the States not
long ago. It convinced me that I've been doing the right thing and of course
it's also motivated me to train hard and improve my form. It's no secret that my
next big goal is the Danish Championships. The form is there, but I'm not the
only rider who has his eye on that particular jersey, I'm sure,” added Breschel.

"It's a great pleasure to be down here with these guys. They're top motivated
and they did really great out there today. They were all up front towards the
end working for each other and it was fantastic to see such team spirit. The
fact that Matti was able to finish off the job in such a great way is just
perfect," said Team CSC Saxo Bank sports director Dan
Frost after the stage.

Bradley McGee was also on the podium after the stage, when he won the final
sprint before the finish and as a result leads one of the built-in competitions
of the race. Tony Martin (Team High Road) still leads overall.